But before you start anything, be sure to get your ice cream maker ready for use. I use a canister-style ice cream maker, which requires at least 24 hours of freezing time before churning. If you love homemade ice cream, consider storing the canister in the freezer so that it will always be ready to use. You’ll also want to set up an ice bath before beginning to cook the custard. To do so, fill a large bowl with ice and add enough cold water so that the ice just begins to slosh around. Fit a smaller bowl in the ice and set a fine mesh strainer over the smaller bowl.

To get the most out of the vanilla beans, use both the seeds and the pods themselves, adding them both to the coconut milk and honey mixture. Photo: Kate Williams

Now combine two cans of full-fat coconut milk (you need the fat for texture and flavor), the honey, and kosher salt in a medium saucepan. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and use a paring knife to scrape out the seeds from inside the pod. Add both the seeds and the empty pods to the saucepan with the coconut milk. The pods will help amp up the vanilla flavor; you’ll remove them before churning.

Heat the coconut milk mixture over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula to dissolve the honey and evenly distribute the vanilla beans. You don’t want to bring the mixture to a full boil, though, because the coconut milk can easily scorch. Once the mixture is hot, lower the heat as low as it will go.

While the coconut mixture is heating, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar until the sugar dissolves. You’ll have to whisk pretty aggressively.

To temper egg yolks, whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot coconut mixture into the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk constantly to avoid curdling while heating the eggs. Photos: Kate Williams

To add the yolk mixture to the coconut mixture without curdling the eggs, you’ll need to first temper the egg yolks. This means that you’ll gradually whisk in some of the hot coconut mixture into the eggs to warm them up. Once the eggs are warm, you should safely be able to whisk them into the rest of the coconut mixture without ending up with bits of scrambled egg in the custard. It’s easiest to do this if you support the bowl containing the egg yolks with a towel wrapped around the bottom in a ring. The towel will keep the bowl from spinning around as you whisk in the hot coconut milk.

You’ll know the custard is ready when it reaches 180 degrees and evenly coats the back of a spoon. Photo: Kate Williams

Add the tempered eggs to the saucepan, whisking constantly. Raise the temperature under the pot to about medium low, and cook the mixture until it thickens. You’ll want to continue to whisk the mixture as it cooks, making sure to get the whisk in all of the corners of the pot. The target temperature for the custard is 180 degrees, but you can also check to see if it is ready by dipping in a spoon. Once the custard has sufficiently thickened, it will smoothly coat the back of the spoon.

Immediately remove the custard from the heat and pour it through the fine mesh strainer into the small bowl in the ice bath. Use a spatula to press the custard through the strainer. Any rouge bits of egg will be left behind, as will the vanilla bean pods.

Rapidly cool the strained custard in an ice bath to halt cooking before transferring it to the fridge to chill completely. Photo: Kate Williams

Now let the custard chill in the ice bath until it has cooled to room temperature. Transfer it to a 4-cup storage container and move it to the refrigerator. You’ll need to let the custard continue to chill for a few hours until it is very cold. The colder the custard is when it goes into the ice cream maker, the faster it will churn, and the less icy its final texture will be. You can also refrigerate the custard overnight if you’d like.

Once the custard is chilled, it’s time to churn. Most canister style ice cream makers take 25-30 minutes to churn ice cream; compressor and self-refrigerating models are faster. No matter what type of ice cream maker you use, you’ll know the ice cream is fully churned when it has thickened to the consistency of soft serve ice cream.

Freeze the churned ice cream in a metal container to drop its temperature quickly. Cover the top of the ice cream with parchment paper to seal out any unwanted flavors from the freezer. Photo: Kate Williams

Transfer the churned ice cream to a metal container. Metal containers work better than glass or plastic because they freeze very quickly and help keep the ice cream as cold as possible. I like to use a metal bread pan. Cover the ice cream with a layer of parchment paper, pressing it down flush with the surface of the ice cream. Wrap the container with plastic wrap and place the whole thing in the freezer. Let the ice cream freeze until solid, another 4 to 6 hours.

Finally after all that waiting, it’s ice cream time.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream. Photo: Kate Williams

Recipe: Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Makes about 4 cups

coconut milk ice creamcoconut milk ice cream

Give Yourself a Dairy-Free Treat This Summer with DIY Coconut Milk Ice Cream